All The Time In The World
by autumnrose2010
Summary: Takes place a few months after the movie 'Insurrection' ended. Jean Luc Picard returns to Anij, and they resume their relationship.
1. The Arrival

Anij waited. He had told her that he had almost a year's shore leave, that he would come back and be with her. She remembered his strong arms around her as he bore her to safety from the falling rocks, the tenderness in his caresses as he touched her, kissed her. She had never before known a man like Jean Luc Picard. He had come to her people in their time of need in his wondrous starship, he had befriended and then fallen in love with her, and she with him, and then once the crisis had passed, he had been gone almost as quickly as he had arrived, leaving a permanent imprint with his name on it upon her heart.

As the days and weeks passed, and Anij returned to the habits of her simple life, the memory of his touch, his kiss, burned in her mind. She would wait for him for an eternity if necessary. After all, what was time to her? She had all the time in the world.

Anij was going about her usual business the day the shuttlecraft arrived. To Anij's primitive society, the arrival of a shuttlecraft was an exceedingly rare event. Anij's heart beat rapidly with excitement. What if it was him? It must be him! He had told her that he would come back, hadn't he?

Anij raced to where the shuttlecraft had landed. As she watched him emerge from it, her heart filled with joy. He had finally returned!

He looked straight at her. "Anij," he said softly.

"Jean Luc!" she cried with joy, rushing to embrace him.

"I missed you so much," Anij murmured, clinging to him.

"I missed you too," he replied. "I've been just counting down the days until I could see you again."

"I'm just so very happy," she told him.

"So am I." He smiled gently at her. "Well, now we have almost a year to share together in peace. What would you like to do first?"

"I've waited so long just to see you again, Jean Luc, that right now I am content just to be in your presence and to hear your voice once again. Perhaps, if you would like, we could go for a long walk and I could show you some more of my home, maybe some things you didn't get to see the last time you were here and all the fighting was going on."

"That sounds like a lovely idea." He smiled and took her hand, and they began to walk toward the lake.


	2. By The Lake

As they slowly strolled around the lake, admiring the flora of Anij's beautiful planet, Jean-Luc noticed some small black berries growing on some surrounding bushes. Impulsively, Anij picked one and popped it into his mouth. The taste was nice, with just the right blend of sweetness and tartness. Grinning mischievously, he picked one of the berries and fed it to her. Soon they were feeding one another berries while laughing joyously. In the end, their faces and hands were covered with sweet, sticky, dark purple juice.

"Let's go wash up," Anij suggested.

"Be careful not to fall in," Jean-Luc teased her as they headed for the water.

"Maybe I'll fall in on purpose just so you can rescue me again." Her light, silvery laugh rang out in the air.

Jean-Luc imagined that this must be very similar to what life was like in nineteenth century Earth. No smog, no pollution, no noise, just the sounds of nature. Far away from his fast-paced job aboard the _Enterprise _with it's awesome responsibilities, he felt like a new man.

After washing themselves clean in the lake, they sat by its edge and talked.

"I trust that you've had no further trouble," Jean-Luc began.

"No, everything's been very quiet here since you left. How have things been for you?"

"Fairly routine, although the stress was beginning to really get to me. I needed this vacation."

"So you don't think you'll be up nights wondering how your crew will ever manage without you?" she asked with a smile.

"Not at all. Commander Riker is very capable and completely trustworthy."

"Well, I'll bet there's at least one person who's going to really miss you." Nagging thoughts of the ginger-haired doctor plagued Anij's mind, putting a slight damper on her joy.

"Nonsense. They'll all fair perfectly well without me."

Splashing noises, followed by loud shouts and laughter, came from across the lake.

"How do you feel about children?" Anij asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you like them?"

"I must confess that I don't really have the patience to deal with them on a regular basis. I suppose it's a character flaw of mine. Truthfully, there was only ever one child I let into my heart. His name was Rene, and he was my older brother Robert's son."

"Was?" Anij wondered why he spoke of Rene in the past tense.

"He and his father were both killed in a fire a few years ago."

"Oh my God, Jean-Luc. I'm so sorry." Anij, shocked and saddened by the revelation, put her arm around Jean-Luc, and he rested his head on her shoulder. Silently, they stayed in that position for a long time.

Soon the sun began to drop in the sky, and Anij suggested they head back to her cabin. "I'll bet you're pretty hungry," she said. He smiled but gave no indication one way or the other.

"This is a fresh loaf of bread I just baked today," she said as she sat it on the table. "And here is some fresh milk, along with some butter freshly churned from it, and some properly aged cheese. I suppose you're accustomed to much fancier fare," she said, sounding a bit apologetic.

"Oh, believe me, it's a welcome change from replicated food all the time," he laughed.

She lit the candles, set the table, sliced the bread and cheese, and they enjoyed their first meal together.


	3. Bonsoir Dame

"Where is that chirping sound coming from?" Jean-Luc asked.

"Small amphibians congregate to search for insects and mates in the late evening. The very small ones make the chirping sound you hear. The larger ones make more of a croaking sound," Anij explained.

"We have very similar creatures on Earth." Jean-Luc suddenly felt a little bit homesick for his native planet.

"They're very valuable as they help keep the disease-causing insects under control," Anij continued. "Sometimes you can see four or five of the tiny ones on the window pane at once."

Jean-Luc chuckled, remembering the tree frogs he had collected and kept in jars with air holes punched in the top as a child.

"Speaking of music, do you play any instruments?" Anij asked.

"Yes, I play the flute. I'd be happy to play a tune for you if you'd like."

Jean-Luc fetched his flute and played a short piece for Anij.

"That was lovely!" she said with a smile. He grinned shyly.

Anij played an ancient folk melody on her lute for him. She taught him the words, and soon both of them were singing along. After a while they put the musical instruments away and just sat and talked.

"I grew up in a vineyard in France," Jean-Luc told Anij. "My family came from a long line of wine makers. But ever since I was a very young boy, I wanted to be a part of a much larger world than that. I remember when I was maybe about five, gazing up at the stars and wondering what was out there, who was out there. I wanted to know what all those worlds were like and what kinds of beings inhabited them. I couldn't wait until I was old enough to join Starfleet."

"What was your brother like?"

"Robert and I were as different from one another as night is from day. He never wanted anything more than the life our family has lived for generations. He settled down, married, and had a family while I was still hungry for adventure. Settling down was the farthest thing from my mind."

"And now?"

"Losing Robert and Rene made me realize just how precious family is. Now that they're gone, I'm the only one left. I don't want my death to be the complete end of my family line."

"So now you want a family of your own?"

He smiled. "That has become an increasingly important priority for me," he said softly. They were silent for a few minutes.

"What about the doctor?" She finally got up the nerve to ask him the question that had been on her mind for the entire day.

"Ah, Beverly and I go way, way back." He chuckled. "Her husband Jack was a good friend of mine, and also my subordinate on a previous starship. He was killed in an away mission many years ago."

"That's terrible," Anij said. "You have certainly suffered some major losses in life. I can't begin to imagine how much pain you must have gone through."

His eyes had a far-away look, and he didn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel sad," Anij said.

"It's all right. You don't make me feel sad. Quite the opposite, in fact."

"So, tell me more about your artificial man. I found him very interesting," she said, changing the subject.

"I've always found Data to be very intriguing as well. I met him for the first time when I joined the _Enterprise _as her captain. His mathematical ability has always astounded me, and his physical strength and endurance are far superior to those of any human. Yet he longs to know what it's like to feel emotions. He told me once that he would gladly trade all his superior skills and abilities for the chance to be human."

"That's a bit sad, isn't it?"

"I suppose it is, come to think of it."

They talked some more about the other crew members and how they were doing, how the inhabitants of Ba'ku were faring, their respective childhoods, and various other topics. Anij rested her head in Jean-Luc's lap and he stroked her hair. After a while he noticed that she had fallen asleep. Carefully, so as not to awaken her, he gathered her up into his arms and carried her into the bedroom, where he gently laid her on the bed and covered her with a blanket. He watched her sleep and sang softly to her.

_Bonsoir dame, Madame, Fais dodo  
>Bonsoir dame, Madame, Fais dodo<br>Bonsoir dame, Madame, Fais dodo  
>Bonsoir dame, Madame, Fais dodo<br>Fais dodo, petite fille..._

Anij stirred in her sleep and smiled. Jean-Luc kissed her forehead and climbed into bed with her, where he cuddled up to her as closely as possible and was asleep within minutes.


	4. Swimming Lesson

When Jean-Luc awoke the following morning, he discovered that he was alone. The spot where Anij had been lying beside him was still warm, but Anij herself was nowhere to be found. Puzzled, he arose and walked out of the bedroom.

"Anij?"

There was no answer. Bewildered, he fixed himself a cup of hot Earl Grey tea and sat at the table drinking it. In a few minutes, Anij entered the house carrying a pail of milk in each hand. Her hair was tied back with a white bandana, and her face looked so fresh and lovely that Jean-Luc felt a sudden urge to kiss her passionately, which he resisted.

"They have to be milked every morning; otherwise they get uncomfortable," Anij explained apologetically. "Besides, now we have some fresh milk to go with those berries you like so much."

After breakfast, Anij offered to take Jean-Luc on a tour of the village to see some of the places of business and meet some of the villagers. He remembered Sojef and his son Artim, and Tournel. They were all glad to see him again. Anij introduced him to the butcher, the baker, the tailor, the shoemaker, and many others. Jean-Luc was charmed by the quaint little shops. Once again he felt as if he had stepped back in time about five hundred years.

They ate lunch in a diner with wooden tables and chairs and paintings of various nature scenes on the walls.

After lunch they returned to Anij's house. Anij worked at her spinning wheel while Jean-Luc drank Earl Grey tea and watched her.

"That's really fascinating," he commented. "I've never seen anything like it."

"It's not that difficult, once you get the hang of it," she replied.

He watched for a few more minutes and then, feeling like he was in the way, went to the bedroom to find something to do.

Anij was just finishing up when she sensed that someone was watching her. She turned to see Jean-Luc standing there, dressed in swimming trunks and wearing a huge grin.

"Time for your first swimming lesson," he said.

Horrified, she backed away from him. "No, Jean-Luc...oh no..."

"Oh, yes." He strode forward and picked her up effortlessly.

"You scoundrel." She burst out laughing. "At least let me put on a swimsuit first."

Anij didn't learn much that afternoon, as they spent much more time laughing and splashing around than in actual instruction. Before they realized it, the sun had almost completely disappeared from the sky, and so, with great reluctance, they made their way back home.

"Well, at least now you're not afraid of putting your head underwater anymore," Jean-Luc said.

"Not since you almost drowned me again," Anij replied in mock seriousness.

"I did no such thing." They both laughed.

They were both so tired that they went to sleep without changing their clothes.


	5. Picking Cherries

When Anij awoke at the break of dawn to milk the cows again the next morning, Jean-Luc awoke with her.

"I'm coming with you today. I may as well start earning my keep around here," he said with a smile.

"Nonsense! You're my guest, but you can come along if you want." She smiled back, and he fleetingly thought of how kissable her lips looked.

A few minutes later, Anij was teaching Jean-Luc how to milk a cow when he burst out laughing.

"What is it?"

"I was just imagining what my crew would think if they realized that Jean-Luc Picard, Captain of the _U.S.S. Enterprise, _is currently milking cows on Ba'Ku."

"What's funny about that?" Anij didn't understand.

"Never mind." He didn't really know how to explain it to her.

* * *

><p>"So tell me more about Beverly," Anij said. "She's a special friend of yours, is she not?"<p>

"Ah, Beverly. I remember the first time I ever met her, how I couldn't stop thinking how lucky Jack was and wishing that I had met her first. I was the one who brought her the news of Jack's death, and it was by far the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. I can still see the blood draining from her face as I told her the news as gently as I could. I had to admire how well she took it, how dignified she was, although I realized how truly devastating it must have been for her. I think that was when I truly realized how much I loved her for the first time, yet I also knew that my presence in her life would be a constant painful reminder of her husband's death, so I left her in peace, as much as it broke my heart to do so."

"It was about ten years after that that I became the Captain of the _Enterprise _and discovered that she was to be my new chief medical officer. I offered to have her transferred to a different starship, but she told me that she wanted to remain on the _Enterprise _with me, that she had in fact specifically requested it."

"Over the years we remained good friends, but I never stopped loving her. So many times I came so close to telling her how I really felt about her, but each time I hesitated out of fear that she would reject me. I also considered the downside of getting involved with a fellow crew member. If we had become involved and anything had happened to her, I don't think I could have lived with that."

"Then I met you and realized that with you is where I really want to be, where I'm meant to be. Beverly will always be a very dear friend of mine, but that's all it will ever be."

A flood of relief washed over Anij. Jean-Luc took her hand and caressed it lovingly.

"What about you, Anij? Has there ever been a special man in your life?" He grinned cheekily. "And don't tell me that's another thing you just never got around to either!"

They both laughed.

"It's not that I've never been lonely or desired a mate," Anij said. "It's just that the survival and well-being of my people has always been so important to me, so much so that nothing else has ever come anywhere close to being as high a priority for me. Until I met you, that is."

* * *

><p>Later that evening, Jean-Luc and Anij were picking small cherry-like fruits from a tree in Anij's back yard and dropping them into a basket when they felt the first drops of rain. Annoyed, Anij grabbed the basket handle and turned to go inside the house.<p>

Just then, Jean-Luc felt the overwhelming urge to kiss her again, and this time he didn't resist it. Gathering her into his arms, he began to kiss her passionately. Startled, Anij dropped the basket of fruit.

"We're getting wet," she protested. His only answer was to lift her into his arms and carry her into the house. Remembering how it had felt the time he had carried her inside the cave, she snuggled into his arms as they tightened around her.

He carried her through the house to the bedroom, where he peeled off her wet dress and gently laid her on the bed. He began to kiss her as passionately as before, caressing her breasts at the same time until her nipples were erect and straining against the material of her bra. Ever so slowly, he lowered the straps of her bra, and she shifted in the bed so that he could unfasten the hook in the back. Her nipples were aching for the touch of his tongue, and as he took first one, then the other, into his mouth and teased them gently, she began to moan involuntarily. After giving loving attention to her breasts for awhile, he began to kiss her belly.

"That tickles," she giggled, and he looked up at her and grinned. Then he peeled her underwear off slowly, as if he were unwrapping a present.

Anij was so turned on by now that the mere touch of the tip of his tongue to her most sensitive organ took her over the edge. He lingered awhile there between her legs, exploring with his tongue, licking and gently nuzzling.

At last he returned to her lips, kissing her deeply, his tongue dancing with hers. Her hand wandered down the front of his chest and abdomen until it settled on the bulge in his pants. Deftly she unfastened his pants and pulled them down until he could kick them off. Then she took him first into her hands, stroking and fondling gently, and then into her mouth, where she licked and nuzzled him as he had just done to her. He began to moan softly, and then to thrust. She continued until he gently lifted her chin with his hand and pulled away.

She lay back on the bed and he entered her, met with slight resistance, and heard her gasp. A rush of tenderness washed over him, and he was still.

"I'm so sorry, mon amour. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Oh no, no...it's all right..." she whispered.

He began to thrust much more slowly and gently, until she begged him to go faster. He could tell by the noises she was making that she was enjoying what he was doing very much, and he felt her body spasm as she went over the edge once more. He followed her there less than a minute later.

Slowly he rolled off her body and held her tightly to himself, and together they lay still and quiet listening to one another breathing and the sound of the rain on the roof, as it likewise pelted a forgotten overturned basket of fruit under a tree in the back yard.


	6. Mon Petit Amour

"Well, I certainly hope that was all you ever dreamed it would be," Jean-Luc said after a while.

"It was perfect, Jean-Luc. You were so good." He heard a sob catch in her throat.

"Why, thank you, ma cherie. But are you all right? You sound as if you might cry." He noticed the tears in her eyes and frowned with concern.

"It just makes me feel...so sad to know that you must leave some day. How I wish you could stay."

"Oh, ma cherie, we have plenty of time left to spend together. It's only three days into my shore leave, and even when that's over, I'll be back to see you again some day. I'll have another shore leave after awhile, you know. Do you seriously think I would spend it anywhere else but here with you?"

"It's not just that." The tears were streaking down her face now.

"What is it, then?"

Anij sighed. "I remember the pain in your eyes and your voice when you spoke of the deaths of your brother and nephew, and later of the death of your friend, and of having to tell his wife. It breaks my heart to realize that some day I will have to say good-bye forever to you as you did to them."

"That's why I could never allow myself to care too deeply for any man outside the Ba'Ku race. Until I met you...and then...it just felt so right..."

"Mon petit amour." Jean-Luc held her and kissed away her tears.

"Stay here on Ba'Ku with me, Jean-Luc. We can be together forever and never have to say good-bye."

"There's nothing in the world I'd rather do, mon amour, than to stay right here with you forever. But I have a duty, a calling. A responsibility to my crew, to Starfleet, to the Federation. That must always come before my own desires."

Anij moved her hands to his face and began to gently trace every detail of his features with the tips of her fingers, as if trying to memorize them. "I'll never forget you, Jean-Luc Picard. I'll always remember your smile, your laugh, the crinkles around your eyes, the sound of your voice. Everything about you."

He felt a lump in his own throat as he cupped her face in both his hands and looked tenderly into her eyes. "Please don't be sad, mon petit amour. I'll find a way...we'll find a way. It'll be all right. I promise it will." He stroked her hair gently, lovingly. "I'm so happy when I'm with you. I want you to be happy too."

She smiled through her tears.

"Would you like for me to sing you to sleep?"

She nodded, and he sang 'Bonsoir Dame' to her as he had the previous night.

"That's a lovely song. What does it mean?"

"Good evening, my dear, go to sleep."

"It's French, isn't it?"

"Oui."

"It's so hard for me to comprehend the number of languages there are on Earth."

"Thousands." He laughed.

"Yet we here on Ba'Ku have only one. I wonder why that is."

"Well, ma cherie, Earth has billions of inhabitants. As each ethnic group settled in one particular area, they each developed their own individual language."

"It seems to me that that would certainly lead to a great deal of misunderstandings between the various groups."

He laughed again. "Different languages are a minor issue compared to different philosophies, governing styles, things like that."

"Still, I think that great variety of cultures would be fascinating."

"Oh, it is. Definitely."

Anij yawned.

"Go to sleep now, mon petit amour. We'll talk some more tomorrow." He kissed her forehead and sang to her until he heard her gentle snoring.

* * *

><p>Rain still drummed on the roof when Anij startled awake the next morning.<p>

"The cows..."

"I'll go. No point in both of us getting wet."

"But..."

"No arguments." He smiled gently. "Go back to sleep, mon petit amour."

When he returned with two pails of somewhat diluted milk, he saw that she was fast asleep. He removed his rain gear and hung it up to dry, peeled his wet clothing off, dried himself with a towel, and climbed back into bed with her. With her back close up against his chest and his arm holding her tightly, he was soon asleep again as well.


	7. Sajef And Artim

Jean-Luc and Anij awoke a couple of hours later to the sound of rain still pelting the windows. For a few minutes Anij wondered whether the previous night had actually happened or had only been a pleasant dream.

"Well, good morning, sleepyhead." Anij turned to look into Jean-Luc's laughing eyes and knew that it had been no dream.

"Good morning, yourself." She yawned and stretched deliciously, then kissed his waiting lips. "It's a wonderful morning for sleeping in, isn't it?"

"Mm hm." He lightly touched her nose with his own. "You're so much fun to cuddle with, too."

"So are you." She sighed contentedly as he held her tight.

"Are you hungry?" he asked after a while.

"A little bit. What would you like?"

"What I would like, ma cherie, is for you to stay right where you are and let me serve you breakfast in bed."

"But you're my..." She tried to say the word 'guest', but he silenced her with another kiss on the lips.

"Lover." He finished the sentence for her, and they both laughed. "And not a bad cook either, even if I do say so myself."

Jean-Luc prepared croissants and baguettes, which they ate with fresh fruit, butter, and syrup. Anij said that she had never tasted anything quite like them before.

"This is what I ate every morning for breakfast as a boy," Jean-Luc told her.

After breakfast Anij said that she had something to show him.

"I intend to give this to you as a parting gift when you return to the _Enterprise," _she told him. "Today would be an ideal day to work on it some more."

Jean-Luc ran his hands gently over the soft material of the quilt, marveling at its intricate design.

"It's beautiful," he said. "I shall always treasure it."

* * *

><p>"Anij has been much on my mind of late," Sajef said to his son Artim. "Ever since the human returned, we hardly ever see her. She's missed two town meetings, and at the one she did attend, she seemed terribly distracted, as if she couldn't wait for it to be over."<p>

"She's in love, Father." Artim was approaching adolescence, and such matters were beginning to interest him.

"Anij has never been one to entertain such notions." Sajef himself had never thought of Anij in a romantic or sexual way at all. It was not that he considered her unattractive, but rather that the idea had just never occurred to him. As a matter of fact, the idea of Anij being in love with anyone at all had never occurred to him.

"You remember how they were together when he was here before, Father."

"Yes, but I would never have thought that Anij would seriously consider compromising her dedication to her people for the sake of an outsider." Sajef said the word 'outsider' as if it were a term of contempt.

"He saved us all, Father. We were about to be relocated and lose everything."

"I realize that, and I will forever be grateful to him and his crew to what they did for us. But except for that one isolated incident, we of Ba'ku have always been completely and totally self-sufficient. If, after all this time, Anij suddenly felt the need for that kind of companionship, why couldn't she have chosen from amongst the approximately two hundred and fifty adult males of the Ba'ku race?"

"Well, I suppose that love just isn't always that rational, Father."

"How do we know that the human's intentions toward Anij are honorable? We know little of the mating habits of humans, nor of their general attitude toward romance. Perhaps to him she is merely a plaything to amuse himself with briefly and then discard."

"I can't imagine anyone treating Anij that way."

"We will visit her today," Sajef decided. "We will see for ourselves how she is faring."

Artim collected his pet rhyl and they began the walk to Anij's house.

As they came nearer, they heard the sounds of male and female laughter. Following their ears, they found Jean-Luc pushing Anij in a swing behind the house. When she saw Sajef and Artim, she jumped from the swing, and she and Jean-Luc went to greet their visitors.

"Sajef, Artim, what a lovely surprise!" Anij looked happier than Sajef had seen her in a long time. Her face was positively glowing.

"I haven't seen you in a while, and I just wanted to make sure that you were all right," Sajef said.

"We're fine." Anij took Jean-Luc's hand. "We were going to go horseback riding after awhile. Would you like to come along?"

"Can we, Father?" asked Artim.

"I don't see why not," Sajef replied.

"Hello there, little fellow." Jean-Luc held the rhyl in his hands and petted it, and it cuddled up to him contentedly.

"He likes you," Artim said.

"So he does." Jean-Luc smiled. He wasn't much of an animal lover, but the rhyl did intrigue him.

Soon they were headed for the pasture, Jean-Luc with his arm protectively around Anij the entire time. For the first time, Sajef felt like an outsider around Anij. He felt that he and Artim had been invited along only for the sake of politeness, that Jean-Luc and Anij would really prefer to be by themselves.

Sajef watched as Jean-Luc helped Anij onto the back of a horse. He noticed the affectionate looks they gave each other and suddenly felt ashamed of himself. If Anij had found a man who made her happy, what right did he have to interfere with that? If the situation had been reversed and it had been he who had fallen in love with a human woman instead, how would he have felt if Anij had intruded upon the relationship, no matter what her motives were?

Sajef made an excuse to cut the visit short and went home with his son.

"So, do I meet with your big brother's approval?" Jean-Luc asked Anij after their visitors had left. Anij worried that he was angry, but then she saw how his eyes were twinkling and realized that he was amused instead.

"Oh, don't mind him. He just worries too much."

"It's all right. Perfectly understandable under the circumstances." He smiled and put his arm around her, and they began the long walk home in the fading sunlight.


	8. Crisis

One sunny day, Anij and Jean-Luc were talking a walk in the woods when they came upon a clearing surrounding a small lake.

"Oh, Jean-Luc, isn't it charming?"

"Uniquely situated as well. I'll bet it's been a very long time since it's been swam in, if ever. It looks very...virginal."

Anij giggled, and Jean-Luc winked at her and began to remove his clothing.

"Jean-Luc!"

"What's the harm? No one will see us." He finished disrobing and dived in. "Come on in! The water's fine!" he called to her.

Anij, who was by now an expert swimmer, quickly removed her clothing and dived in.

Beneath the surface, she felt as if she were in a different world. The water was so clear that she could see the pebbles at the bottom of the lake, and the water on her naked skin felt exhilarating. She and Jean-luc swam back and forth across the lake several times, and she almost kept up with him.

Finally Jean-Luc climbed up onto the bank and lay spread-eagled in the sun, enjoying its rays. He smiled invitingly to Anij, and she emerged from the lake dripping to lie beside him. They began to kiss, and Anij trailed her hand down his abdomen. She found his manhood and began to gently stroke it, and when he was hard, she moved to where she could take him into her mouth. She licked and sucked gently as she fondled him with her hand, and he moved his leg slightly so that she had better access. After some time he gently touched her face. "Enough, now." She lay back, and he gently parted her and began to stimulate her with his tongue. He brought her almost over the edge and then entered her. She climaxed almost immediately, moaning loudly as the waves of pleasure crashed over her. She clung to him tightly as she cried out his name, moving in rhythm with him until she heard him begin to moan and felt him release inside her. Afterwards they lay beside the lake almost motionless, listening to the calm, still quiet of the forest.

"It's really different, making love in the outdoors," Anij commented.

"It's a totally unique experience," Jean-Luc agreed. "I find that the slight danger of being discovered adds a subtle but very real thrill."

She looked at him in shock, and he laughed. After a moment she joined in.

They lay like that for a long time, simply enjoying the quiet and one another's company. Eventually they put their clothes back on and began to walk slowly back the way they had come, hand in hand. Jean-Luc saw movement in the bushes, and a moment later, a rhyl appeared, looking at him inquisitively.

"Hi there, little fellow," Jean-Luc said, reaching to pat its head. The rhyl snarled and bit his finger. Swearing in French, Jean-Luc jerked his hand back quickly.

"Let me see." Anij's voice was soft with concern as she examined Jean-Luc's finger.

"It's just a little nip," Jean-Luc said. He didn't want Anij to worry about him.

"It did draw blood," Anij said quietly.

That night Jean-Luc went to bed early, saying that he didn't feel well. The next morning he was burning with fever and delirious. Alarmed, Anij went to fetch the village healer, a woman named Nona.

Anij told Nona what had happened the previous day as Nona examined the bite on Jean-Luc's finger.

"The rhyl that bit him must have been infected with hydrophobia," Nona told Anij.

Hydrophobia was a disease to which the rhyls of Ba'Ku were susceptible. It caused the normally docile and water-loving creatures to become bad-tempered and avoid water at all costs. It was also universally fatal to them, although to the humanoid residents of Ba'Ku it caused either no symptoms at all or mild cold or flu-like symptoms.

"Although the anatomy of the humans is virtually identical to our own, their body chemistry and biophysics may be very different," Nona explained to Anij. "A disease which is relatively harmless to one of our own may be deadly to a human. We will have to watch him closely."

Nona prepared a poultice to bring Jean-Luc's fever down as Anij kept a vigil beside his bed. Within a few hours he became very agitated, thrashing wildly and salivating copiously. Nona attempted to administer an herbal concoction that was effective as a tranquilizer, but he snatched the cup from her hand and threw it against the wall. Worst of all, when Anij looked into his eyes, she saw that Jean-Luc Picard was no longer there, that in his place was a crazed beast mad with fury and pain.

"We must bind him so that he doesn't hurt himself," Nona told Anij. Her heart breaking, Anij helped Nona to wrap Jean-Luc in a sheet.

Eventually, the thrashing and salivating subsided and Jean-Luc slipped into a coma.

"It seems that hydrophobia runs the same course in humans that it does in rhyls." Nona's voice was heavy with sorrow. "There's nothing more I can do for him. I must return to my home now. Let me know if his condition changes."

Anij became restless. She couldn't just sit and watch the man she loved slip away. Thinking that a walk might clear her mind and help her to think more clearly, she stood up and walked out of the house and toward the road.

Since the toxin which was deadly to humans had little or no effect on those of the Ba'Ku race, she reasoned, the blood of the latter must contain some substance capable of overcoming the toxin.

As she walked along, Anij spied a plant which she knew had a hollow stem, and an idea formed in her mind. She gathered a length of the plant's stem and rushed back to the house.


	9. This One's Just For You

Jean-Luc still lay motionless on the bed when Anij returned. Finding and swiftly grabbing the sharpest knife she owned, Anij rushed to Jean-Luc's bedside and grabbed his limp wrist. Finding what she hoped to be a suitable vein, she used the knife to open it, inserted one end of the hollow stem, and then taped the stem in place. Then, gritting her teeth, she opened a vein in her own wrist, inserted the other end of the stem, and taped it in place. Then she held her arm slightly above Jean-Luc's, allowing gravity to slowly deliver her blood containing the toxin-fighting agent into his bloodstream.

Anij watched for about thirty minutes and saw no change at all in his condition. Beginning to feel weak and dizzy, she removed the stem from her wrist and bandaged the site, planning to try again later in case there remained no change. A few minutes later, Jean-Luc began to move his arms and legs, and shortly afterwards, his eyes opened. They looked up at Anij in confusement, and when she looked into them, she was overjoyed to see that the crazed beast was gone, and the man she loved was back.

"Thirsty." Jean-Luc's voice was so weak that Anij could barely hear him. When she brought a jug of water to him, he gulped frantically, emptying the jug in seconds and asking for more. He drank three big jugs of water before slowing down. He finally turned from the jug and looked questioningly at her.

"What happened?" His voice was still very weak, but he sounded much better than he had before drinking the water.

"You've been very sick, Jean-Luc, but you're going to be all right now." She wondered how much of the episode he remembered.

Jean-Luc looked all around him and then into her face once more. He tried to sit up, but his head immediately fell back upon the pillow.

"Rest now, Jonny. You need to get your strength back."

His eyes went from the bandage on her wrist to the one on his own. "You saved me." His voice was full of amazement and wonder.

"I had to do something. I couldn't just let you die. I love you, Jean-Luc."

Tears flowed freely from Jean-Luc's eyes and streamed down his face. "Mon petit amour." He could barely speak. "How much blood did you lose?"

"Hardly any at all, Jonny. I'm fine. Please don't worry about me." She would have given every drop of blood in her body to save him if that was what it had taken, and somehow she knew that he knew it.

Jean-Luc held her bandaged wrist to his lips and tenderly kissed it. "I...I don't know how to thank you."

"By getting strong and healthy again. That's the only thanks I need." She stroked his forehead, and he closed his eyes. "Just rest now. I'm right here, and everything's going to be all right."

Nona returned to the cabin later and was surprised to find Jean-Luc not only still alive but awake and talking. Anij didn't tell her what she had done. She knew that Nona would take it as an affront, as Nona jealously guarded the respect she was afforded as the village healer.

Jean-Luc slept for the rest of that day, and for most of the next several days as well. Anij remained in almost constant vigil by his side, pushing him to eat and drink and sleeping very little herself.

On the fourth day, Jean-Luc got out of bed and took a shower. When he returned, he found Anij lying in bed, fast asleep. He sat in the chair she had occupied for so long, thinking about how much he loved her and wished that he could make this shore leave last forever. Eventually he rose to eat, kissing her cheek as he stood.

Anij slept for most of that day. When she arose and took a shower, she found that Jean-Luc had prepared a banquet for her.

"Just look at all this food!" She laughed with surprise.

Jean-Luc grinned. "Cooking's never been my specialty, but I did the best I could."

"It's delicious," Anij told him. Relief that Jean-Luc was back to his old self again had returned her appetite to her, and she was famished.

"Not bad, if I do say so myself," Jean-Luc laughed.

They both ate until the food was almost gone.

"Now it's time for dessert." Jean-Luc scooped her up into his arms and carried her to the bed, where he quickly removed first her clothing and then his own.

She reached to stroke his manhood, but he gently moved her hand aside. "This one's just for you," he whispered. He slowly kissed all the way down her body, taking his time and paying special attention to her erect and aching nipples. As soon as his tongue touched the sensitive spot between her legs, she had the most intense orgasm she had ever had. He inserted several fingers into her and moved them quickly in and out, which nearly drove her wild. After he had done that for a while, he went to work with his tongue again, brought her over the edge once more, then finally entered her, thrusting slowly at first, then picking up speed. After awhile he stopped moving inside her and stimulated her with his fingers until she came, then began thrusting quickly. After doing that several more times, he finally came together with her, and to her it felt as if their two souls had become one, and there was no longer a clear distinction between the two individuals, that their innermost beings had blended into one another.

Afterwards they lay in bed holding one another tightly, both too overcome to speak for a few minutes.

"How many times did you just come?" he finally asked her with a smile.

"I lost count." She laughed.

"You're a part of me now, Anij," he said, suddenly sounding very serious. "Your blood flows through my veins, and no matter how far apart we are, a part of you will always be right here inside me."

Anij looked into his eyes and saw relief, gratitude, and love, and something else as well. Profound sadness.


	10. Streetlights And Stars

Wrapped in one another's arms, they both slept deeply and peacefully that night. When they awakened, sunlight was streaming through the window.

"Oh my God! The cows..." Anij started. They both hurriedly dressed and rushed outside with the buckets.

Jean-Luc picked Anij up and spun her around, then stood her on her feet again and kissed her lips. "It feels so good to be alive!" he shouted.

"Yes, it does," Anij said quietly.

"I feel like celebrating some more," Jean-Luc said when they returned to the house. "I've spent far too much time lying around, and that's not like me at all."

"What would you like to do?" asked Anij.

"What I'd dearly love to do is to look out over Paris from the top of the Eiffel Tower with you," Jean-Luc said softly. "Did you know that Paris is called the 'City Of Lights'? That's because it was one of the first cities to use streetlights. There are so many wondrous things I'd like to show you, Anij." He sounded just a little sad.

"Tell me about streetlights. Are they similar to candles?"

"A streetlight is much brighter than a candle, Anij. I have something similar that I could show you." Amongst his things he found a flashlight. He showed Anij how to turn it on, and she marveled at its brightness.

"A flashlight such as this one is operated by batteries." He opened the compartment where the batteries were stored and showed them to her. "A streetlight is operated by electrical current. A wire runs from each light to a generator, which provides the energy for the light to shine."

"It's amazing that such a tiny object can contain so much energy." Anij played with the flashlight for awhile, taking the batteries out, inspecting them, and putting them back in. To Jean-Luc, her child-like fascination was endearing.

"A streetlight is similar, only much bigger?"

Jean-Luc nodded. "If you can imagine, not just a single one, but an entire row of them lining each side of a street, then you can imagine what Paris looks like at night."

"Oh, I would so much love to see it!" There were tears in Anij's eyes.

"I will take you there some day," Jean-Luc vowed. "I don't know how right now, but I will find a way."

* * *

><p>That night the sky was beautiful and clear, and Jean-Luc and Anij lay looking up at the stars.<p>

"I wonder which one is the one around which Earth orbits," said Anij.

"Our star is a very ordinary, average, medium-sized, middle-aged one," Jean-Luc told her. "It's not nearly large enough to ever form a supernova or black hole. When it dies, it will be just an ordinary white dwarf. Luckily for us, that's still several billion years away."

"What is its name?"

"We've always simply called it the sun, and never felt the need to give it any fancier-sounding name." Jean-Luc smiled.

"Besides Earth, how many planets circle it?"

"There are eight others, but most are very hostile to life as we know it. Mercury rotates so slowly that its day is longer than its year, so it's always extremely hot on one side and extremely cold on the other. Venus has a very dense atmosphere filled with gases that are toxic to humans. Mars, as well as Earth's single moon, has been colonized somewhat over the past couple of centuries. Beyond Mars are the gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune. Being made of gas, they lack a solid surface to stand on, but they have many satellites, some of which, such as Europa, have been colonized to an extent. Beyond Neptune is the icy dwarf planet Pluto, which also has a single satellite, Charon."

"It sounds really fascinating," said Anij. "So much variety."

"Until the late twenty-first century, we thought that we were rather unique." Jean-Luc laughed.

"Tell me about Earth."

"Oh, Anij, there's so much to tell, I really wouldn't know where to start. There are Antarctica, a continent covered with ice and snow year round, Australia, which is mostly bush country and outback and has many unique animal life forms, the jungles of Africa, the deserts of the mideast, the rain forests of South America, the fertile plains of Northern Europe, and oh, so much more."

"Tell me about France."

"It's a beautiful country. It's bordered by Spain to the south and Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy to the east. It's also right across the English Channel from the British Isles. I've told you of Paris, and there's so much more. The beaches, the vineyards...in Paris there's a museum called the Louvre that has many world famous works of art in it, Da Vinci and many others. It's an an amazing place to visit."

Anij was silent, deep in thought. Unlike Jean-Luc, who had visited, or at least passed through, much of the known universe, she had never left Ba'Ku. She was amazed at how much falling in love with Jean-Luc Picard had changed her. For the first time in her life, she could feel the restlessness of wanderlust stirring within her.


	11. Voyage To La Barre

"I must return to Earth soon," Jean-Luc told Anij one day. "My sister-in-law Marie is terminally ill, and she wants to see me again before she dies."

Anij looked up in surprise. "How will you get there?"

"The _Enterprise _has offered to take me there. They will be here to pick me up in several hours. Would you like to come along? You said you'd like to visit Earth."

"Are you sure Marie wouldn't mind?"

"No, not at all. Any friend of mine is a friend of hers."

"I'm very sorry to hear that she's dying. What's wrong with her?"

"She fell ill with an autoimmune disorder not long after Robert and Rene died. It went into remission once, but now it's back. To tell you the truth, she never really recovered emotionally from the loss of her husband and son. I believe a part of her wants to join them. I'm not sure she even really wants to recover, deep down inside."

"Oh, Jean-Luc, that is just so sad."

"Yes, it is." He sighed deeply. "Well, I suppose we'd better get to packing."

Despite her sadness for Marie, Anij was excited to be travelling with Jean-Luc for the first time. She couldn't wait to beam down to Earth.

During the voyage, Anij became re-acquainted with the other members of the _Enterprise _crew. Although Beverly greeted her warmly, she couldn't help but feel a little bit awkward in the other woman's presence. She wondered how close Beverly and Jean-Luc had come to physical intimacy, and decided that she truly didn't want to know.

It must have been obvious to Beverly how apprehensive Anij felt around her, as she put a comforting hand on the other woman's arm before she began to speak.

"Relax, it's all right," Beverly said soothingly. "I just want to say thank you. Jean-Luc told me that you saved his life when he became infected with rabies."

"Rabies?"

"That's what it's called on Earth. It caused a great deal of suffering and death until a vaccine for it was developed in the twentieth century. Even then, the vaccine had to be administered before symptoms set in, or it was ineffective. It was not until the twenty-first century that treatment was developed that could cure the disease once symptoms set in."

"It causes only minor symptoms, or no symptoms at all, to those of the Ba'Ku race."

"That's what Jean-Luc told me. He said that you saved him by transferring the disease-fighting substances in your blood to him. Fortunately, you must have the same blood type he does, as there was appearently no transfusion reaction."

"I had to do something. I couldn't just let him die. I love him, Beverly."

"I know you do, Anij. He loves you too. More than his own life, even."

Anij was startled. "He told you that?"

Beverly shook her head. "He didn't have to. I can tell how he feels by the way he talks about you, the way he acts around you. You're his whole world. I'm happy for you, Anij, and for him as well."

Anij felt awkward. She had never imagined any man feeling that way about her before, or, for that matter, herself feeling that way about any man. Loving Jean-Luc had just come so naturally to her that before she even realized it, he had come to mean more to her than any other person ever had.

"I hope that the two of you have a long, happy life together," Beverly said as she hugged Anij.

"Thank you, Beverly." Anij was relieved that Beverly had asked nothing about her sex life with Jean-Luc.

Soon Jean-Luc and Anij were beamed down in La Barre, France, outside Marie's home. A servant answered the door when Jean-Luc rang the chime.

"Captain Picard! It's so good of you to come," the servant said. "Madame Picard is too weak to get out of bed, but she's awake. I will take you to her."

Jean-Luc and Anij followed the servant down the hallway to a closed door. The servant knocked on the door.

"Madame Picard! Your brother-in-law is here!"

"Please show him in," called a weak voice from behind the door.

When Jean-Luc and Anij entered the bedroom, they saw that Marie was sitting up in bed with the pillows propped behind her head and the quilt pulled up to her midsection.

"Jean-Luc!" she exclaimed with a smile.

"Hello, Marie." He went to her and hugged her and kissed her cheek. "This is my friend Anij from Ba'Ku."

"It's nice to meet you, Madame Picard." Anij came to her and hugged her as well. She was amazed at how weak and emaciated the woman was.

"How do you feel today?" Jean-Luc asked Marie.

"Very tired, and very weak," Marie said. "It won't be long now."

"Oh, don't say that!"

"Why not? It's true! I'll be joining my dear Robert and my precious Rene very soon. I can't wait to see them again."

"Please don't talk like that, Marie." Jean-Luc put his arm around Marie and held her hand. "You can fight this. I know you can."

"I don't want to fight any more. I'm so tired of fighting." Marie's voice was so weak that Jean-Luc and Anij could barely hear her.

"All I want is to hold my darling Rene in my arms once again..." Marie's head slumped against Jean-Luc's chest, and soon she was asleep. Jean-Luc gently laid her back down on the bed and tucked her in.

Anij saw the tears in his eyes and felt so sad for him.

"There may be hope for her after all," she told him.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What do you mean?"


	12. Return To Ba'Ku

"Why, the metaphysic radiation of Ba'Ku's rings, of course," Anij replied. "I know that it restored sight to the blind eyes of your engineer Geordi and returned your other crew members to a more youthful state. Perhaps it could halt or even reverse Marie's illness as well."

Jean-Luc blinked in surprise. Of course! Why hadn't he thought of that? Yet, a mass migration of terminally ill humans to Ba'Ku in search of a miracle cure would be nothing short of disastrous, of course...

"But Uncle Jean-Luc, she's my _mother," _called a plaintive voice from inside his head.

That was all it took.

"We must leave as soon as possible," Jean-Luc told Anij. As Marie slept, the two of them made hasty preparations for their return to Ba'Ku on the _Enterprise _with Marie. When she awakened, they told her of their plans.

"Anij's home planet has rings around it that have healing qualities," Jean-Luc told Marie. "We would like to take you there because we think that you could get better there."

"But all I want is to be with my dear Robert and Rene again," Marie said weakly.

"You must think of what Rene would want, Marie." Jean-Luc's voice was full of compassion as he looked earnestly into Marie's eyes. "Don't you realize that he would want whatever it took for you to be well again? Don't you know how much he loved you?"

Marie's eyes filled with tears, and she didn't say anything.

"I'm so sorry that we didn't have time to visit the Eiffel Tower or any of the other marvels I told you about," Jean-Luc told Anij on their way back to Ba'Ku. "There'll be other times."

"That's all right," Anij said. "Helping Marie is more important than sight-seeing."

Jean-Luc covered her hand with one of his own. "Thank you for being so concerned about her, Anij," he said softly.

"She's your family, Jean-Luc. Of course I'm concerned about her."

After beaming down to Ba'Ku, Marie gazed around at her surroundings, unable to believe her eyes.

"This is paradise," she gasped.

Jean-Luc laughed. "Not quite, but pretty close to it," he told her.

* * *

><p>After several weeks on Ba'Ku, the change in Marie was remarkable. Too weak even to stand alone upon arrival, she was soon not only walking alone but dancing and even climbing. While at first she spent almost all her time in bed, as the days passed, she began to spend more and more time doing things around the house and even venturing outside for short spells.<p>

One particularly beautiful day, Jean-Luc and Anij planned to take Marie to spend a day at the lake lying in the sun, having a picnic, and perhaps wading or even swimming. Marie's eyes lit up as soon as they arrived at their destination. Jean-Luc and Marie looked at one another and smiled. Marie's recovery seemed to be progressing so nicely.

Some time after their arrival, Artim arrived carrying his fishing pole and bait. Marie spotted him, and her face became radiant with joy.

"Rene!" she shouted, bounding toward him.


	13. A Noble And Unselfish Act

Artim stared at Marie, confused and a little afraid.

"I knew I'd see you again some day!" Marie exulted.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. You must have me confused with someone else," Artim told her.

"Oh, stop teasing, Rene. Don't you think that a mother would know her own son?" Marie tried to embrace Artim, and he dropped his fishing pole and bait and ran back toward his home with a look of panic on his face.

"Rene! Come back!" Marie called, dashing after him.

Jean-Luc and Anij ran after her, trying to catch up to her, but to no avail. Artim reached his home, ran inside, and quickly shut and locked the door.

"Rene! Let me in!" called Marie, pounding on the door.

"Marie! Stop!" Jean-Luc called. "He isn't Rene!"

Just then, Sajef, who had been working in his back yard, came around to his front door to see what all the commotion was about. Marie turned and saw him, and her face lit up with joy. "Robert, mon cheri!" She rushed to embrace Sajef, and he backed away, perplexed.

"What in the world is going on?" he asked.

"Sajef, this is Marie, Jean-Luc's sister-in-law from Earth. I think she's just a little bit confused," Anij told him.

"Marie lost her husband and son in a fire a few years ago," Jean-Luc added. "She herself has been terminally ill for months. We brought her here to Ba'Ku in hopes that the metaphysic radiation in its rings would give her the hope of recovery."

"I'm truly sorry for your loss," Sajef told Marie.

"It's all right," Marie told him. "I've got you and Rene back now. I was right. This place truly _is _paradise!"

"Marie, please listen to me," Jean-Luc pleaded. "This isn't Robert and Rene. This is Sajef and his son, Artim. I'm so sorry, Marie."

Marie looked at Jean-Luc as if she thought he'd lost his mind. "Why, of course it's Robert and Rene! Tell him, Robert. Tell him who you are!"

Jean-Luc and Sajef exchanged helpless glances.

Anij reached for Marie's hand. "Come, Marie. I'd like to hear more about your life on Earth. Perhaps you could even teach me a few words in French."

"Sure, I'd love to," Marie said. They began to walk along the road as Jean-Luc and Sajef entered the house.

"Marie was absolutely devastated by the loss of her husband and son," Jean-Luc explained to Sajef and Artim. "The psychological trauma she suffered was so intense that even after all this time she still has a very difficult time accepting that they are truly gone. I fully believe that her autoimmune disease was originally psychosomatically caused. Unconsciously, she willed herself to get sick and die so that she could join Robert and Rene. I believe that in her state of altered consciousness, she sincerely believes that Ba'Ku is heaven and that you two are Robert and Rene. Since arriving here, she's come a long way in her physical recovery, but she's not one hundred percent well yet. If we try to force her to accept the truth at this point, I greatly fear that she'll relapse and eventually die. Would it be too much to ask for you to go along with her delusion, just for now, until she's stronger and can handle the truth? I can assure you that she isn't dangerous in any way, and I will provide for all of her material needs as well as come by daily to check on her progress."

"We can't just let her die, can we, father? I don't think that I could live with myself if we refused and then that happened," Artim told Sajef.

"Very well," Sajef said resignedly. "She may stay with us and call us Robert and Rene, temporarily, of course. I don't see that there's any other option at this point."

"Thank you both very much, from the bottom of my heart," Jean-Luc told them. "What you're agreeing to do is a noble and unselfish act, and you can be assured that I'll never forget it."

Presently Anij and Marie arrived back at Sajef and Artim's home.

"Did you have a nice visit with your brother, mon cheri?" Marie asked Sajef. "You two haven't seen one another in so long, I know you must have had an awful lot to catch up on."

"Indeed we did," Jean-Luc told her. "Come, Marie. Let's go back to pack your things so that you can return to Robert and Rene."

"Good-bye for now, mon cheri." Marie lightly kissed Sajef's lips. "I'll see you again really soon."

"Good-bye, my darling," Sajef said softly.


	14. Emergency

For a while, everything seemed fine. Sajef and Artim adjusted to Marie's presence in their home, and Marie was overjoyed to be a part of their lives. Jean-Luc kept his word and came by daily to check on Marie, whom he never failed to find in an upbeat and happy mood.

One day Sajef and Anij called a village meeting.

"As you all know, this drought has been going on for a long time now, and we are in danger of losing our crops," Sajef began. "We must divert ground water so that the roots of our crops will have accesss to it. This will be an arduous task and will require the cooperation of everyone on Ba'Ku, but if we are successful, our crops can be saved."

Work began the very next day. Sajef and Anij determined the best places to dig, and the population was divided into small groups. The work was heavy and tedious, involving a lot of digging and laying of pipes. Sajef, Marie, Jean-Luc, and Anij all worked together as a group. Artim served as errand boy, bringing food and water to the group as needed and filling in when someone needed a break. Amazingly, Marie was able to work just as hard as Anij. It was as if she had never been ill in the first place.

Jean-Luc was delighted to see that Sajef and Marie worked together as if they had known one another for years rather than for a relatively short time. He surmised that Marie, under the delusion that Sajef was her deceased husband, found it natural to interact with Sajef just as she would have with Robert, and for Sajef in turn to respond in kind. Jean-Luc often glanced their way and saw them interchanging light-hearted banter and thought to himself that he hadn't seen Marie that happy since Robert and Rene had been alive.

"I'm so sorry that you're having to spend your leave time doing such hard work," Anij said to Jean-luc.

"It's only a small portion of my leave time," he replied. "And I don't mind doing what I can to help your people. I did it once, and I don't mind doing it again. Besides, since you saved my life, I do owe it to you, don't I?"

"Nonsense," Anij replied, but she she smiled and hugged him gratefully.

One day Artim stepped into a deep hole at an awkward angle and sprained his ankle. Sajef persuaded him to stay home and rest his injured ankle the next day. The group worked at a slower pace and made less progress that day, and they were even more exhausted than usual when they finally stopped working and headed for home.

As the group drew nearer, they saw black smoke coming from Sajef's house, and as they drew even closer, they felt the heat on their skin and began coughing.

"Oh my God! It's on fire! Rene! Rene!" Before Jean-Luc could stop her, Marie raced for the burning house at superhuman speed, and he saw her disappear inside the door.

"Marie! No!" he screamed, but there was no answer.


	15. Unexpected Love

A moment later, the figure of Artim appeared in the doorway of the burning house. He was struggling to pull an obviously heavy load through the doorway after himself.

"Help me!" he screamed. "She fell and hit her head...I think she's unconscious..."

In a flash Sajef was at his son's side, helping him to pull Marie's limp body to safety.

In the meantime, the other villagers had come running with buckets of water to try to put the fire out.

"What happened?" asked Jean-Luc, as soon as they were a safe distance from the blaze.

"I had fallen asleep on the sofa. Marie came running in and screamed for me to get out. I tried to get up but the pain from my sprained ankle was so bad that I almost fell. Marie grabbed my arm and pulled me toward the door. She tripped over something and fell and hit her head. I was trying so hard to get her out of there before the smoke and fumes could get to her."

"Marie? Marie?" With tears in his eyes, Sajef struggled to get a response from her, but it was to no avail. Anij went to search for Nona as Sajef gathered Marie into his arms and carried her into Anij's home, where he went to the bedroom and gently laid her on the bed, closely followed by Jean-Luc. Tears rolled down Sajef's face as he sat beside the bed holding Marie's hand. At length Anij returned with Nona, who promptly examined Marie.

"Her heartbeat is regular and strong, and all her vitals are normal. She doesn't appear to have any fractures to her skull. Time alone will tell whether or not she has suffered any permanent brain damage."

Sajef and Artim stayed temporarily with Anij and Jean-Luc, sleeping on a blanket on the floor. Marie lay unconscious in Anij's bed for several days while Anij and Jean-Luc slept in the guest bedroom. Sajef kept a constant vigil by Marie's bedside during the day. On the third day after the fire, she finally opened her eyes and looked around, confused.

"Where am I? What happened?"

"You're in Anij's house. You fell down and hurt your head," Sajef told her.

"Who are you?"

Sajef was astonished. "You don't remember who I am, Marie?"

She shook her head. "Where's Rene?"

Artim automatically looked up. Marie looked at him, the confusion in her eyes changing to wariness. "You're not Rene!"

Artim just stared.

"You're not Rene," Marie repeated. Then she looked at Sajef. "And you're not Robert." Understanding seemed to suddenly dawn in her eyes, causing her to look shocked at first, then horrified, and finally resigned.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice was barely a whisper as she blinked back tears. "I've made a terrible mistake. Please forgive me."

Sajef watched her with eyes full of compassion.

"I'll...I'll be leaving now." She tried to stand and almost fell. Sajef caught her and helped her back into bed.

"No, Marie. You need to stay in bed for awhile longer, until you're a bit stronger."

Marie began to cry. Sajef put his arms around her and held her as she wept.

"It's all right, Marie...it's all right."

"No, it's not all right...I'm an imposter...an outsider...I don't belong here. I'll be on my way as soon as I can."

"No, Marie. Please." Sajef's eyes were full of emotion. "I don't want you to go. I...I love you, Marie." Her eyes widened in surprise. "Please, Marie, won't you stay?"

"Who are you?" she asked him again.

"My name is Sajef." He smiled warmly. "And my son's name is Artim."

Artim smiled at Marie.

"This place...it isn't heaven, after all, is it?"

Sajef laughed gently. "This is the planet Ba'Ku. It's our home. No, it isn't heaven, but to us it's pretty close. You saved my son's life, Marie. He was asleep and the house was on fire. You ran in and woke him up."

"There was a fire?" Marie suddenly panicked.

"Yes, but it's out now. It's all over, and you're safe."

Tears streamed down Marie's face. "Robert and Rene..."

"I know." Sajef took both Marie's hands into his own and looked earnestly into his eyes. "I'm so sorry, Marie. So very sorry."

"But it's all over now?"

"Yes, Marie. It's all over." Sajef smiled. "Everything's all right now. Will you please stay here on Ba'Ku with me? It would make me very happy if you would."

Marie looked uncertain for a moment, then nodded. "All right. I'll stay."

Sajef grinned and hugged her tightly. Then he lifted her chin and kissed her lips. She responded hesitantly at first, then with more enthusiasm.

Jean-Luc and Anij had watched the entire exchange and were both moved to tears.

"That was just too perfect, wasn't it?" Anij said later.

Jean-Luc nodded. "I'm sure she'll be all right now," he said with a smile.

"I've known him for years and he's a good man. He'll take good care of her," Anij replied. Their arms were around one another as they returned to the guest room.


	16. Return To The Enterprise

The wedding of Sajef and Marie was beautiful and very touching. There was no doubt in anyone's mind that the love in Sajef's eyes for his bride was genuine, so much so that Marie, who had once thought that she could love no man but Robert, couldn't help but feel love toward him in response. Those who knew Marie's background rejoiced that she had at last found happiness. Jean-Luc noticed that her face was free of the lines of worry that had given her such a haunted look for so long. Today her face positively glowed.

Thanks to the kindness and generosity of their fellow villagers, Sajef, Marie and Artim had a newly built home to live in, and it was much nicer than the one that had burned to the ground. The villagers had all worked together to construct new furniture and shelves, and their women had sewn new clothing and linens for the family, so by the time of their wedding, Sajef and Marie were quite ready to begin their new life together.

A short time after the marriage of Sajef and Marie, the day Jean-Luc and Anij had both dreaded was finally upon them.

"Today is the last day of my shore leave. Tomorrow I must return to my post aboard the _Enterprise," _Jean-Luc told Anij.

"I will accompany you," Anij said quietly.

"I could never ask you to do that," Jean-Luc told her. "Don't you realize how much you'd be giving up? The fellowship of the only group of people you've ever known, your peaceful and idyllic life here on this beautiful planet, the chance to remain young forever. And for what? You know nothing at all of life aboard a starship, Anij. It's a life filled with danger and uncertainty. You never know from one day to the next what hazards you may be about to face."

"If you can face them, so can I."

"I don't doubt that for a minute, Anij. You're the bravest woman I've ever known. I wouldn't even still be alive if not for you. But can't you see that that's exactly why I could never ask of you what you're proposing?"

"This isn't the end for us, Anij. I swear that it isn't. I'll come back to visit on a regular basis. There'll be other shore leaves. I promise you that there will be."

"We belong together, Jean-Luc. I've known it from the moment you first kissed me. For me there is no life without you in it, always."

Jean-Luc was silent as emotions raged inside his mind. There was no doubt that he loved Anij, loved her more than his own life, even. Her happiness was of utmost importance to him, but so was her welfare. After all, was he more of an authority on what was best for her than she herself was?

"I love you, Jean-Luc, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't care where we are as long as we're together. Will you please let me come with you?"

"Of course I would never deny you anything you want, _mon amour. _I just want you to be certain that you really understand what you're asking and that you won't regret it later."

"I will never regret following my heart, Jean-Luc." As she leaned in to kiss him, he knew that the choice had been made.

The next day, as Jean-Luc and Anij awaited the arrival of the _Enterprise, _Anij slipped a small object into Jean-Luc's hand. He looked at it, shocked, and began to shake his head, but Anij put her finger to his lips.

"It's all right," she urged him. "It's only one of a great many and will not be missed. My people will not be affected in any way by its loss, and not only you and I but also the rest of your crew will benefit by its presence."

"Are you sure?" Jean-Luc still felt a certain sense of trepidation as he examined the small radioactive rock he was holding.

"Yes, I am."

"But how?"

"I just know. That's all."

Somehow Jean-Luc had perfect confidence that what Anij said was true.


	17. Epilogue Part One

**Two Years Later**

Anij lay on the sofa with her hand on her extended belly, waiting to feel another movement from the life inside her. The movements had at first been light, like the flutter of a bird's wings, but they had eventually become much stronger. Lately they had decreased, but Beverly had assured her that that was perfectly normal, as the baby was now larger and didn't have as much space to move around in as before.

"How's our little football player or ballerina doing?" asked Jean-Luc. He and Anij had decided not to find out the baby's gender before it was born.

"See for yourself." They both watched as Anij's belly rippled. "That was a foot, I think," Anij said, and they both laughed.

Anij felt the familiar tightening of her uterine muscles. 'Braxton-Hicks contractions', Beverly had called them. But now they seemed different somehow...stronger, and yes, a little painful.

"I think it's time," she told Jean-Luc.

"Oh yes, it's definitely the real thing this time," Beverly said after examining Anij in sickbay. Anij lay on her side on a biobed as Beverly hooked her up to an IV and monitors. As the contractions began to get stronger, she practiced the breathing methods she had learned.

Anij labored throughout the evening and for most of the night. In the wee hours of the morning, Beverly examined her and told her that it was finally time for the baby to be born. She placed Anij's feet up in stirrups and told her to push, hard.

Anij groaned and strained with the effort. Jean-Luc wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead with a cool, damp washcloth.

Anij pushed and pushed until she thought that she couldn't push any more. "The baby's head is out!" Jean-Luc cried excitedly.

"You're doing really well," Beverly told her. "Give me one more big push." Anij pushed again and felt the baby's body slide from her own.

"It's a girl!" exclaimed Beverly. She handed the baby to Jean-Luc, who cut the umbilical cord, and the baby began to cry lustily.

"I want to see her," Anij said breathlessly. Jean-Luc tenderly placed the tiny body on Anij's chest, and she caressed the soft skin and downy hair.

"Her name is Jeanette Renee Picard," Anij announced.

_"Merci, mon amour." _Deeply touched, Jean-Luc kissed first his wife, then his daughter.

"She's beautiful," said Beverly. There were tears in her eyes, as well as in Jean-Luc's and Anij's.

Jeanette's tiny mouth began to search, and Anij gently guided her to what she sought.

"I love you both so very much," Jean-Luc said, cupping Jeanette's fuzz-covered head gently in his hand.

"I love you too, Jonny." Anij leaned her head onto Jean-Luc's shoulder, and he kissed her forehead.

"I'm so happy for you both," said Beverly with a big smile. "I know she's going to be such a lovely little girl."

"I finally feel that my life is complete," Jean-Luc said. "I never before imagined how happy becoming a father would make me." He watched fondly as Anij nursed their daughter, thinking about how content he felt.


	18. Epilogue Part Two

**Twelve Years Later**

"Come on!" Jeanette whispered to her nine-year-old sister, Rose-Marie Anjelique. "There's something I want to show you."

Rose-Marie frowned. "You know we're not supposed to be back here."

"Sh! No one will see us."

Both girls were strawberry blondes and had gray-green eyes with the tiniest flecks of brown. Jeanette was taller, and her hair was wavier and a lighter shade of blonde.

"Here it is!" Jeanette said triumphantly.

"But it's just a rock." Rose-Marie was puzzled.

"It's _not _just a rock," Jeanette said huffily. "It contains metaphysic radiation. Do you know what that is?"

Rose-Marie shook her head.

"It stops the aging process. Not only that, but it reverses the effects of aging as well. Do you know that when Dad first met Mom, he was almost completely bald?"

"No way!" Rose-Marie laughed and shook her head. Her father had had a full head of hair for as long as she could remember.

"He _was. _And did you know Geordi used to be blind?"

"You're kidding!"

Jeanette shook her head. "I'm serious. This rock used to be part of one of the rings around Mom's home planet, Ba'Ku. A long time ago, some people called the Son'a tried to force Mom and the rest of the Ba'Ku to move to another planet so that they could steal the rings, but Dad and his crew wouldn't let them," Jeanette said proudly.

"Wow! So how did this one end up on the _Enterprise?"_

"Mom brought it along when she came on board the _Enterprise _with Dad. Geordi's been trying for a long time now to find a way to replicate it. He says that's an ethical way that the entire Federation can benefit from it."

"What's that mean?"

"It means that a lot of people can be helped without anyone getting hurt."

"Oh." Rose-Marie looked impressed. "Geordi's pretty smart, isn't he?"

"Dad's pretty smart, too," Jeanette said loyally. "If not for him, Mom and the rest of the Ba'Ku wouldn't even be here anymore."

"So then me and you wouldn't be here either."

"That's right. Come on, let's get out of here before we get caught." The girls tiptoed out of engineering and made their way back before anyone noticed that they had been gone.


End file.
